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Improved research methods show greater personality differences between men and women than earlier studies found.

Men and women have large differences in personality, according to a new study published Jan. 4 in the online journal PLoS ONE.

The existence of such differences, and their extent, has been a subject of much debate, but the authors of the new report, led by Marco Del Giudice of the University of Turin in Italy, describe a new method for measuring and analyzing personality differences that they argue is more accurate than previous methods.

The researchers used personality measurements from more than 10,000 people, approximately half men and half women. The personality test included 15 personality scales, including such traits as warmth, sensitivity, and perfectionism. When comparing men’s and women’s overall personality profiles, which take multiple traits into account, very large differences between the sexes became apparent, even though differences look much smaller when each trait is considered separately.

However, the study indicates that previous methods to measure such differences have been inadequate, both because they focused on one trait at a time and because they failed to correct for measurement error.

The authors conclude that the true extent of sex differences in human personality has therefore been consistently underestimated.

Females were found to be more sensitive, warm, and apprehensive while males rated higher in emotional stability, dominance, rule-consciousness, and vigilance.

Would these personality differences affect children’s development if more fathers quit their jobs to serve as primary caregivers for their families? This could occur as increasingly more women than men are completing college, and would be a reversal of the current trend of college-educated wives dropping out of the workforce.